ANZ Stadium

Friday, 7.35pm

Canterbury Bulldogs $1.08 vs Parramatta Eels $8.00 at Sportsbet Australia get a $250 FREE BET on this match

Canterbury Bulldogs $1.05 vs Parramatta Eels $11.00 at Luxbet Australia get a $500 FREE BET on this match

Odds Comparison by NRL Odds:

Canterbury Bulldogs	1.08	1.10	1.05	1.10	1.08	1.09
Parramatta Eels	8.00	7.25	11.00	7.25	8.00	8.00

Preview:

The second game set down for Friday night is between old foes, Canterbury and Parramatta.

Unfortunately though, given the respective form of both sides, I doubt we’ll see one of the titanic clashes of years gone by.

Canterbury bounced back after two losses to Roosters (20-18) and Knights (18-12) with a comprehensive victory over an Origin depleted Melbourne Storm in their latest match a fortnight ago, 39 – 0.

That victory takes the Bulldogs to sixth spot on the ladder, only three competition points from fourth placed Manly.

As most teams, especially those with numerous representative players, start to feel the pinch in the last quarter of the season, the Bulldogs, who started the season with one win (over Parramatta in Round 2) from their first six matches and without several leading players, have been able to surge during the middle part of the season, unaffected by the representative calendar.

Parramatta continue to search for that elusive fourth win off the season, and whilst their efforts in the past fortnight have been better, it’s been eight losses in a row now and the chances of them finding a win here, against a quality outfit, is highly unlikely.

Since 2011, Bulldogs have won each of the five clashes between the two sides with an average winning margin of 15 points.

Would expect the Dogs to better that average here.

Teams:

Canterbury Bulldogs:

1 Ben Barba
2 Mitch Brown
3 Josh Morris
4 Krisnan Inu
5 Sam Perrett
6 Josh Reynolds
7 Trent Hodkinson
8 Aiden Tolman
9 Michael Ennis (c)
10 James Graham
11 Frank Pritchard
12 Tony Williams
13 Greg Eastwood

Interchange
14 Dene Halatau
15 Josh Jackson
16 Sam Kasiano
17 Dale Finucane
18 Tim Browne

Coach: Des Hasler

Parramatta Eels:

1 Jake Mullaney
2 Ken Sio
3 Ryan Morgan
4 Willie Tonga
5 Semi Radradra
6 Ben Roberts
7 Luke Kelly
8 Tim Mannah (c)
9 Matt Keating
10 Fuifui Moimoi
11 Reni Maitua
12 Daniel Harrison
13 Darcy Lussick

Interchange
14 Mitchell Allgood
15 Peni Terepo
16 Joseph Paulo
17 Junior Paulo

Coach: Ricky Stuart

Eels prepare to shut down Barba in NRL

Ben Barba may be unsettled but Parramatta coach Ricky Stuart is taking no chances when his cellar-dwelling NRL team come up against Canterbury’s brilliant fullback on Friday night.

Reigning Dally M Medallist Barba has flagged the possibility of seeking a release from the Bulldogs to link with a Queensland-based club amid speculation his ex-partner and their two children may move north.

“I don’t know (how it will affect him). It doesn’t interest me,” Stuart said on the eve of the Eels’ clash with the Bulldogs at ANZ Stadium.

“We’ve done our work in regards to reviewing his game. I haven’t worried about his mental state or his decisions.

“He is a great competitor. We’ve done a lot of work on Benny, it’s just a matter of trying to handle that instinctive ability that he’s got.

“He’s got great attacking prowess, and he’s a player that every team has to watch because of his speed and his game sense.”

The Eels haven’t posted a win since round nine against Brisbane in May, all but cementing their spot on the bottom of the NRL ladder for a second straight season.

But Stuart senses that hapless record in itself provides motivation for Bulldogs counterpart Des Hasler and his men.

“They won’t want to be beaten by a team that’s going for nine straight losses,” said Stuart.

“We’re not proud of (that), but I can imagine what Des is trying to build his preparation on,” he said.

“I believe they will want to bounce off the next week or two in regards to where they’re going for their season.”

While the sixth-placed Bulldogs are vying for a finals berth with three other teams on 22 points, Stuart’s focus has been on rebuilding the Eels for 2014.

After earlier telling 12 players they won’t have a place at Parramatta next year, Stuart signed South Sydney forward Nathan Peats and Wests Tigers youngster Brenden Santi this week, bringing his tally of recruits for 2014 to six.

Stuart backed one of those recruits, Brisbane fullback Corey Norman, to bounce back after being dropped to the second-tier Queensland Cup by the Broncos this week.

“He’s a tough kid,” said Stuart.

“He made a very tough decision early in the season in wanting to join the Eels. From just being able to make that decision he’s got courage.

“He’ll handle the situation now.”

In the longer-term, Stuart is hopeful the rebuild at Parramatta means they will again one day boast some of the biggest names in the game, as the Eels did with club legends like Eric Grothe, Brett Kenny and Peter Sterling.

“It’d be lovely in six to eight years time that we’ve got those types of names from our young players, our young recruits, our junior league players coming through,” said Stuart.

“That’s my job. It’s a big job. But we’re excited about the task ahead.”